Method for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes



Feb. 24, 1931. g, HUDSON Q 1,793,548

- METHOD. FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES Filed May 19, 1.924 2 Sheets-She 1 1 11 ml Fig 10 ET) Fig: 3.

Fgb. 24,- 1931. i c, HUDSON 1,793,548

. METHOD FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES Filed May 19, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 X I A v M 7 Fig.l2.

V Patented Feb. 24, 1931 .HAROLDC. HUDSON, onsvrenrscortr, 'mssre gems;rseienee To tame: sHoE V MACHINERYCOBPORATIONQOE 'PATERSQILNEWV ERSEY, A CORPORATION "on NEW JnRsEY V mn'rnonronnsn IN wi-rn'lvmnuracrnnnonBooT's'ANn sHoEs Application filed May 19,

This invention relates to the art of making boots and shoes and particularly to methods i of treating themargins and edge portions of the bottoms of boots and shoes to-produce what are known as close edgesTand thin edges, that is,#edges';in which'the-width of the exposed edge face of the bottom materials isreduced. to a minimum and causedto liein close relation to theiupper, the inVen-i t1on being illustratively set forth with retenence to its application to'the'treatment of shoe shanks. The production of shoes having thinedge and close edge shanks whichwould meet the requirements as to fine appearance and accuracy demanded by the tracle,'particularly for welt'shoes', has been a problem attended by considerable difficulty, and-it-is an object of this infventionto provide a method'bythe employment of which close edgeand thin edge shanksmay be produced with a facility and uniformity heretofore unattained. Al-

though the e'xemplification of the invention herein'illustratively set'forth is designed to .be especially applicable to-the'manufacture "of Welt shoes and, accordingly, the invention will be herein describedwith especial refer- :ence to welt shoemaking, 1t 1s to beunderstood that in various aspects the mve'ntion 1S not'so. limited and may be employed inthe 'manufacture of 'shoes'of othertypes which have a'sole attaching fiange.

ln'jits' application to the manufacture of rwelt shoes in one aspectthe invention-consists inprovidingtheoutsole with a-thin flap or f lip asrby channeling, treating the margin of the sole which extends from ball line't'o breast line on each side or the shoeby reducing the width'of the welt to an extent predetermined;

with relation to thcwidth of the flap, reduc; ing the width of the margin of the sole which eKtendsbeyondthe channel flap-to an extent the welt when reduced to expose the margin predetermined withrelationto the width of ness the margin of the welt which extends the baseof the channel flap to a'thin outer.

beyond the l edge of the outsole. Preferably the marginof the outsole will be beveled from trimmedand set. In theedge trimmingioperi at-ionat theashank of the shoe, as aresult. of

edge" faceloof the Well Thereafterythe 11am outsole sewing iope'ration,;t0 secure the welt and the outsole together, is "performed;

though'it may be done earlier if desired, and

the margins of the outsole andwelt are beaten down to cause the welt' to liei'n-closerelation to'the upper. f The channel flap 1 is cemented and' laid to cover'not only the beveled margin of the outsole but also the margin ofth e vwelt of uniform width which extends ioutwardly beyond-it; After the formationof'the :heelseat and the attachment oft-he heel in any well-lmown manner; the edgesiof thefsh-oe is the previous steps 0t this method, the trim 'ming cutter actsfnot on the sole, but only on the edge faces of the weltand the channel flap, 1

an'chhy reason-of the fact that the margins of the Welt and flaps are of uniformthickness, the

trimmededge faceof 'the combined welti and I flapwillbeofuniformwidth. Since theuniformity of'thiclrnessfof-the welt aswellas trimmed edge; a thin" edge which is of uni form width and which lies is thusproduced. 3

j Theapparatus selected as illustratively em-v bodying meansby which-'certain'steps ofthe close to the upper -meth'od maybe; performed comprises a cutter by which the beveling o f the .marginlof the outsole;thereduction ofits width, thetrim s.

ming of the sole attaching. flangeorwelt to r cause it :to extend 'a predetermined distance beyond the edge of the 'ou'tsole; and thereduc- ,tion' of; the welt tOaunifQrm thickness by'revz moval'of thematerialffrom the outer mar- 1 ginal face; are performed simultaneously/by passing the shank'po'rtion of the shoe across the cutter. As illustrated,- a shield runs in the rand crease of the shoe'to limit the amountof material which may be removed from the edge I face of the welt and has a face cooperating with the edge of the cutter which removes-mag terial from the outer marginal ifaeeg of; the we1tt0 cause 'thatfportion: of the: Welt to he I reduced to a unforin thickness. Beyond the said cutting edge the peripheral margin of the shield is concaved to reducethe effort required to move the shoe relatively to the cutter. Upon the oppositeside of the cutter a second shield is provided which has substantially the same diameter as the cutter and is provided with abeaded edge which runs along ter blades are thus shielded by thebead which preventsthe cutter from digging. and results in cleaner and more accurate operationof the cutter. l r l V In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a partial transverse section of the shank portion of a' shoe in the condition in which it ispresented after the rough-rounding and channeling operations, the dotted line ndicating the line of cut for producing a thin edge I Fig. 2 is, a perspective view of theshank portion of a shoe after the operations of beveling'the margin of the outsole, reducing its widthfreducing the margin of the Welt to "uniform thickness and reducing its width V have been performed;

"Fig. 3 is a partial cross-section of Fig. 2; V Fig. 4 is a partial cross-section of the shoe after the outsole sewing operation;

Fig. 5 is a partial cross-s'eotion'of the shoe after the margins of'the outsole and welt have been beaten downto produce a close edge;

'Fig. 6 is a partial cross-section of the shank portion of the shoe after the channel flap has been laid to cover thernargins of the soleand welt;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the shoe after the sole leveling operation;

Fig. 8 is a partial cross-section of the shoe 1 after the edges of the welt anathema flap have been trimmed;

Fig; 9 'i's a part1al cross section o f the shoe showing the action of the e'dge fini'shing'tool; Fig. 10 is a perspective View of the shoe U afterits completion; 7

Fig. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal section of apparatus which may be employed for carrying out the method, the shoe being shown.

cross-section in its relationto the apparatus;

Fig. 12 islan explodedview in perspective o fparts shown in Fig-11 an In Fig. 1 is'represented a 'section of awelt.

shoe throughtheshank portion at a stage in its manufacture" after-the usual operat ons, lnclnding' the sole lay ng Fig.13 is an end view ofthe cutter shown f rough-rounding.

and channeling operations, have been per formed. The edge face of the outsole 2 and the'edge face of the Welt i have been roughly trimmed flush by the rough-rounding operation and the channel flap 6 has been'cut from the margin of the outer face of thesole 2.

In cutting the channel flap on the roughrounder it is impracticable forthe channel 7 cut to extend quite tothe solecdge'avery narrow bead 8 being sometimes left on the sole if thesole is of good quality.- This, however, is always removed in the final edge trimming operations. Q

a The margins ,ofthe outsole and welt are now treated in accordance with the present nvention by operationsb which the mate rial outside the dottedi'line'in Fig. '1 is removed. These operations consist 1n beveling the margin of the outsole from the base 10fof the ch annel flap to a thin edge 12 (Fig.- 2) at a predetermined distance from the said" baset-the entire edge face'of the sole and a portion oftie'width ofthe sole margin being' removed and exposing the margin of the "welt beneath The margin of the welt e is reducedsin thickness from the thin edge 12 of theisole to the edge face 14 of the welt, the reduction from 12 to 16 (Fig.3) being a continuation ofthe line-of bevel of the outsole, and the reduction from '14 to16 being. on a line parallel to the opposite face of the welt so thatfor the width 14; 16 the welt is of uniform thickness. Sufficient material is also removed from the edge face of the welt to, enable the channelfian-(i, when laid. to reach to the edge'faceof the welt even after the distance from the'base 10 of the channel flap to'the edge face of the welt-has been increased by bendingthe sole margin and welt toward the shoe to olose'the welt crease. Allowance is also made'for the head 8. a little more being removed from the welt than would be'requiredif the flap reached to the edge face of the sole. The shoe-is now ready for the outsole stitchin operation. which may be performed in anyusual mannerlforexample by the Rapid outsole stitching chine, the weltand outsole being secured'together-bv stitches 18fasindicated in Fig. 4. Itis to benoted, howeven th'at the sewing; may precede the described thin edgnngfoperav 'tions if desired. In that case it is better to make the angle of the bevel of the'outsole;

more obtuse to ensure against contact of the cutter with the stitches.

next beaten down-to close't the wel-t'creaseas shown in Fig. 5. Cement is applied to the, inner face of the channel flap 6 and the ex posed margins of the welt and sole andthe fiaplaid down, its outer 'edgereaching to or v 1,120 The margins of the outsole-and welt are slightly beyond the edge face 14 of the welt, I

as indicated in Fig. 6. i V 1 The shoe is next leveled to shape the sole finally to the last andto rub down and shape trimming so that the'usual variation in tne the-channel flap and the portions ofthe outsole and welt covered by it',ithis.condition of the shoe being represented by Fig; 7, where it will be seen that the edge of the channel Ilap.-6. extends along: the outer corner of the edgeface leof thewelt in a somewhatir regular manner and that the crease (F g. 6)

in the flap over the line 16 of the welt has been eliminated. 'The shoe-is now ready for the, attachment ofthe heel, tl e heel-seat of the outsole being fitted andthe heel attached in anyusual manner. After the heelis attached the edge of the channelflap 6 and the" edge face 14 of the welt. which constitute the only bottoming materials exposed in the shank portion of theshoe, are trimmed by the edge trimmer. In this operation, the fact that theflap and welt are of uniform thick .ness for a substantial distance inwardly of their edges gives the operator a latitude in 'amount-trimmedfrom the edge at different parts thereof produces no, corresponding variation in the .widthofthe trimmed edge which Wlll. be: of uniformwidth. throughout, as indlcated 1n.;2F1g. l0. Thetrimming cut-f terhas aishield whichengages the sh'oebetween the upper and'welt butthis shield is so thin'that. it does not materially-disturb the.

separation of the welt and upper in edge close'relation of the weltand upper. Any

'-'trimming is, however, counteracted by the edge setting iron which,'as indicated in Fig.

' .9, has a lip 20 whichengagesathe margin of the shoe'bottom and appliesinward: pressure while-an e'dgefinishing face-22 acts on the 1 edge face oftheshoe bottom. The resultv of 4 1 narrow edge face of uniformwidtlt' 'theseoperations, as-indioated in Fig. 10, is a shoehaving a close'sha'nkwith a thin edge or In Figs; '11 13013 isshownnapparatusineluding a'cutter by which "the beveling of the margin of the outsole, the reduction of its width'andthe reduction of; the margin of the welt to uniform thicknessand'to a uniform width fromthe edge of the outsole may,

7 be effected by asingleoperation. As shown :in Fig..11,'the:apparatiis comprises a shaft =30'which. may be the cutterjs'haft of a trim-'- -ming machine suc'has an edgetrimmer. A'

sleeve 34; fits snugly over the shaft 30 and. is held thereon by ;a setscrew The out-er end 38. of theshaftBO is taperedtorecei-ve .aslotted expanding sleeve lOhaying a flange I positions'the' shield with respectto the cut 42. Internallythe sleeve lO fits theta'pered' portion 38 ofthe shaft and externally is ref ceived in a sleeveportio-n 4-; of a cutter the blades of which, shownas four in number, are indicated at 46. Outside the cutter is a shield 4:8having a reduced portion v5O which enters the opening 'inthe cutter sleeve and 'ter. A screw 52 the head of which is coun- "ter-sun'k' in the shield 48, has a left -l1and-' thread which engages a"threaded hole in ing enlarged at 54 to free it from contactinner face of the cutter blades-and is coe.

shield next to the cutter' thin layer 60 of to-the axis of the cutter.

portsand confines the fieXible ;welt; for the action-of the cutting edge 68: and also for the cuttingedge 7 0-which trims its edge face. The .edge- 66 bevels the marginof the sole:

-. the end "of the Shaft 30. Tightening :of the screw forces the shield 48 against the cut- 'ter sleeve ed and the cutter-sleeve against the flange 42 of the expanded sleeve4O which is thereby pushed inwardly of-the tapered 7 I portion 38ofthecutter shaft and caused to expandtohold the cutter sleeve firmly on the shaft. Thejbefore-mentioned sleeve 34 which slides on a'cylindricalportion' of the shaft '30 has theouter portion of. its" opengl with thee-utter sleeveitl and externallygis provided with a flange 56; against which a shield 58'abuts. The shield rests against the extensive in diameter with-the blades. The shield 58 may be of steel, brass or other metal and, under some conditions, it is advantageous to provide on the outer face of the copper the outer edge. of which is "formed into a head 62. Thismakes the-shield easier to clean and prevents itfrom burning' the leather. .The head may be arrangedto lie just beyond "the ends of the cutterbl'adesAG but preferably the bead is ofthe samediam- I eter as the cutter and the extreme ends-of the cutter blades are'let into the-bead, the bead being removed at the points 64 to re ceive the points of the cutter blades -46. Tl ebead may be integral with and of the same materialas the shield. The bead. prevents the cutter from diggingor cutting'too deeply and results incleaner and betmr opera tionof the cutter;

The cutting edge of each of-the blades lG Y 7 i has three cutting portions, an outer} inclined portion 66, a portion 68 perpendicular to the; axis of the cutter, and aportion 70 parallel The portion 70 removes material from the edge face of the from the base of'the channel flap outwardly for a. predetermined distance and because the margin oftheWelt is reduced in th ckness its action. extends for the. short distance 12 16 (Fig. 3) on to the margin of the welt.

The outer -margin@76 offthe shield {l8 beyond thesurface '74- i's concave and the shield .1

brought to a thin dull edgejatjits periphery. The vper'iphery'of the shield8 extends into the welt cre'ase of the slioe,serving to guide and support it and to limit the action of-the cutter inwardly; of the shoe." I Pressure for the shoe against the cutter,as shown in Fig. 11, causes the welt to bend slightly and bear against the margin 76 of the shield 48. If

this margin Z6 is not concave considerable friction betweenthe shield and welt is produced which the operator: hasto-overcome in moving the shoe along the cutter. By making the margin 76 of the shield concave much 'ofthe frictional resistance of theshoe is removed, the welt bridging more or less between the, outer edge of the surface 74:

and the peripheral edge of the shield.

The shield 68, or the'bead 62 which forms part of it, engages the outsole at the base of the channel flap and serves as additional guiding, supporting and lmntmg means for the shoe. The prov1s1on of the two shields givesthe operator a certain amount of latitude in tipping the shoe without materially afiecting the action of the cutter. The parts ofthe welt and outsole heldfor the action of the cutter 'betweenthe two shields being flexible, the shoe may be tipped to a certain extent and guided at times by the bead of the shield 58, at times by the periphery of the shield 48, and at times by both shields acting together.- a

The various cutting edges of the cutter will be so proportioned that the width of the welt will be reduced to an extent predetermined by the width of the channel flap, that the width ofthe sol-emargin will be'reduced to expose the margin oi the welt to an extent predetermined by the width of the welt when reduced, and that the thicknessof the welt will be uniform for a'predetermined distance from its edge face.

The novel features embodied in the apparatus above described are not claimed here in but are made, the subject-matter of a divisional application Serial No. 465,725 filed July 3rd,1930.

Having thus described my invention, what I I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1.- That method of forming thin edges on:

welt shoes which consists inproviding an outsol-stitch-cOvering flap, reducing the -width of the weltfto an extent predetermined reducing the width of the sole to expose the face of the welt toan extent predetermined.

with relation to thewidth ofthe welt'when reduced.

2. That method of forming thin edges on welt shoes which consists in providing a chan 'nel flap on the outsole coextensive with the margin of the outsole and welt, reducing the width of the welt to an extent predetermined with relation to the width of the flap, reducingthe width of the 'sole to expose the bottomfaceof the welt to an extent predetermined with relation to thewidth of the welt when reduced, and beveling the margin of sole attaching flange.

. thickness.

the sole from the base of the channel flap to a thin outer edge.

3.. That method of forming t iin edges on welt shoes which consists in. providing an outsole-stitch-covering flap, reducing the width of the welt to an extent predetermined with relation to the width of the-flap, reducing the width of the sole to expose the face of the welt to an extent predetermined with relation to the width of the welt when re duced and reducing theexp'osed portion of the welt'to a uniform thickness.

4:. That method of forming thin edges on welt shoes which .consists in providing an outsole stitch-coverin fla reducin the I width of-the welt to an extent predetermined with relation to the width of the flap, reducing the width of-the sole to expose the face of the welt to an extent predetermined with relationto the width of the welt when reduced, and'laying the channel flap to cover the margin of the sole and the exposed portion ofthe welt.

5. Thatmethed of-forming thin edges on Welt shoes which-consists in providing an out-sole-stitch covering flap, reducing the to the shoe, channeling the outsole, and re- 1 ducing the width of themargin of thesole under the channelflap to permit the flap to engage the sole attaching flange whereby he material to be trimmed from the edge of the sole comprises only the channel flap and the 7. That method of forming thin edges on the shanksof shoes which consists in providlng a channel fiap'on'the outsole of uniform thickness coextensive with the margin of thebottoming mater1als,'reducmg in wldth mainder of said margin for a predetermined distance from its edge to a uniform thickness,

cementing'and laying the channel flap to cover the reduced margin, and edge trimming the marginlwithi'n the regionof uniform 8. That improvement in. methods of forming thin edgeswhlch includes-channeling an attached sole, and beveling and reducing the width of the margin of 'the-sole from which the channelfiapwa s split so that the channel flap will extendbeyond the edge ofthe sole.

9.. That method, of forming thin edges on shoes whichconsists in attaching a sole to a shoe having a sole attaching flange ex tending to the edge of the sole, and then beveling and reducing the width of the sole mar gin to expose the outer portion of the sole ing material from the flesh face of the welt to reduce the thickness of the welt, and lay- 4 ing the outsole-stitch-covering flap over the beveled margin of the outsole and the reduced welt. Y

11. That method of forming thin edges on welt shoes which consists in providing an outsole-st1tch-covering flap, beveling the margin of the outsole to a thin edge, reducing the margin of the welt to uniform. thickness, and laying the. 'outsolestitch-covering flap over the beveled marginof the outsole and the uniform margin of the welt.

e of the flap 12. That method of forming thin edges on the shanksof welt shoes which consists in providing a channel flap on the outsole coextensive withfthe margin of the outsole and welt, beveling the outsole to a thin edge and" reducing the width of thesole margin to 63- pose the welt, reducing the margin of, the

welt for a predetermined distance froinits J edge to a uniform thickness, cementing and laying the channel flap to cover thev margin of the outsole and welt, and trimming the margins of the flap and welt within the re gion of uniform thickness of vthe welt.

13. That method of forming thin edges on the.shanks of welt shoes which consists in providin a channel flap on tne outsole of substantially uniform thickness at its outer margin, heveling the margin of the outsole to a thin edge, said edge being located at a predetermined distance from the base of the channel flap and within the margin of the welt, trimming the margin of the welt to a uniform thickness for a predetermined distance from its edge, cementing and laying the channel flap, and trimming the margins of the flap and welt to produce an edge of uniform thickness.

14. That method of forming thin edges on the shanks of welt shoes which consists in rough-rounding the outsole and welt, channeling the outsole to provide a flap of substantially uniform thickness, beveling the outsole from the base of the channel flap outwardly to a line within the margin of the welt, re

ducing the exposed portion of the welt to a uniform thickness for a substantial distance from its edge, laying the channel flap to cover the bevel of the outsole and the reduced 7 margin of the welt, and trimming the edge and the welt to provide an edge face of uniform width.

15. That method of forming thin edges on the shanks of welt shoes which consists in rough-rounding theoutsole and welt,.channel-. ingvthe outsole to provide a flapof'substantially uniform thickness,beveling the outsole from the; base of the channel flap outwardly and reducin -thewidthof the beveled margin to expose the Welt, reducingthe exposed portion of the welt to a uniform thickness for a substantial -distance from its edge, sewing the outsole and :ivelti-together, laying the channel flap to cover the bevelof the outsole 3 5 7 and the reduced margin of the weltfand trimming the edge of the flapand -the' we'lt to provide an edge face ofrmiformwidth,

16. Thatmethod of-forming thin edgeson I the shanks of welt shoes which consists in rough-rounding the outsole and welt, channeling the outsole to provide 'a flap of substanmargin to expose the welt, reducing thG'QX- posed portion of the welt toa uniformthick- 1 tially I uniform thickness, beveling the out-- ness for a substantial distance from its edge,

beating the margin of thejoutsole and welt into close relation to the upper, laying the channel flap to cover the bevel of the outsole and the reduced margin' of the welt, and trimming the edgeof the flapand-the Welt to provide -.an edgefaceof uniform width.

17. That method of forming thin' edges'o'ii? shoes havinga sole anda sole'attachingflange extending tothe, sole edge which consists in, reducing the width and thickness of the margin of the sole to'eXpose themargin of the sole attaching flange.

18. That method" of forming Ythin edges on shoes havinga sole and sole attaching flange extending to the sole edge which con sists in forming onthe sole a stitch-covering flap, reducing thewidth. and thickness. of the margin of the sole beneath saidflap to expose the outer margin of said sole attaching flange, and laying the stitch-covering 'fla-p against thereducedmarginof the sole and the eX- posed margin of the sole attaching flange.

for-ming on the sole a stitch-covering flap, reducing the width andthickness ofthe margin of the sole beneath said flap to expose the outer margin of saidjsole attaching flange, re-

ducing the exposed margin of said sole attaching flange to uniform thickness, and'laying'the stitch-covering flap over the reduced margin of the sole and the reduced margin of a the sole 7 attaching flange.

ness and the width of the margin of the outsole with a beveling cut that intersects the contacting surfaces of the outsole and the welt and simultaneously reducing the thickness of the margin ofthe welt by severing stock from If r 11 0 19. That methodof forming thin edges on shoes having a sole and a sole attaching flange extending, to the sole edge which consists in plane parallel to the opposite surfaceof the the said contacting surface of the Welt in a margin of the Welt. I r

21. That improvement in methods of treat ing the edges of the bottom of a Welt shoe which consists in simultaneously beveling the margin of the outsoleto a thin edge and reducing the Width of said margin and simultaneously reducing the Width an d thickness of the portion of the Welt exposed by reducing the Width of the sole margin.

22. lhat improvement in methods of treating the edges'of the bottom of a Welt shoe hich consists in providing a channel flap on the outsole, reducing the Width of the sole margin beneath the flap and simultaneously beveling the margin to a thin edge, reducing simultaneously the Width and thickness of the portion of the Welt exposed bythe reduction of the Width of the sole margin, and then utilizing the flap to cover the beveled margin of the sole andthe reduced margin of the Welt. 7

shoe bottom which consists in forming the body portion of the outsole with a beveling cut that intersects its attachingface, forming the remainder of the edgeportion of the shoe with parallel surfaces perpendicular to its edge face to facilitate the formation of an edge of uniform tl11Ck116SS,' and trimming the edge portion ofthe shoe Within the region of uniform thickness. p Y i 24:. That improvement inimethods of forming the margins of shoe bottoms which consists in beveling a portion of-the projecting margin of the shoe bottom, and formingthe remainder of the edge portion of uniform thicknessto facilitate the formation of an edge of uniform't-hickness in the edge trimming operation.

25. Thatlmprovement margin of the shoe bottom, and forming on an adj acent' portion of the remainder of the margin a surfaceparallel to its opposite face to facilitate the formation of an edge of uni trimming operaform thickness in the edge tion. v v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. p

HAROLD C. HUDSON.

That improvement in methods of trimmmg thepro ecting marginal portion of a in methods of forming the margins of shoe bottoms which consists in bevelmg a'portion of the pro ect1ng 

